What exactly is going on with the Edmonton Oilers?
Well if you haven’t looked lately, Rome, sorry Edmonton, is falling (again.) The team hasn’t changed once, in the past ten years and it’s the same old business in Edmonton. Forget about what happened two weeks ago, what’s in right now is that the Oilers are a horrible hockey team.
Wait, what? Is that right? Am I doing it right?
Seriously. There are a lot of articles out there that are proclaiming the Edmonton Oilers are a bad hockey team and will always be a bad hockey team, the Taylor Hall trade is a mistake, Chiarelli and McLellen must be fired. Today, I’m going to delve in about all these in a fair and level headed way.
It’s Time To Stop In Edmonton
Guys, it’s time to stop thinking that the team would be a better hockey team with Taylor Hall and/or Nail Yakupov on it. The Taylor Hall trade happened on June 29th.
No, I’m not telling people to GET OVER IT ALREADY. Trust me, I watch that Taylor Hall Tribute Video every couple days and I want to buy a Hall Devils jersey. He’s still one of my favorite players. What I am wanting to stop, is this narrative that the team is worse without him.
Sure, it’s a bit early to proclaim either way, but even with the 5 game losing skid, the Edmonton Oilers are still better than they were last year. As Sean Wingrave here at the Rig Pointed out, the stat line for the players in and out are revealing.
Yes, Taylor Hall was producing well ( I say was, because he’s now out 3-4 weeks with a knee injury). Yet, he still has the same amount of goals as Milan Lucic with five. Before injury, Hall was goalless in his last eight games (YES I KNOW HE HAD FIVE ASSISTS IN HIS LAST FIVE.). Would that really help the Oilers lack of goal scoring?
Or how about Nail Yakupov? No, I don’t think Yakupov would be a great help as he’s been a healthy scratch more often than not. As Sean pointed out, he’s on pace for a 36 point season, but that’s a bit inflated due to a good start.
The New Guys
Which leads me to the next point: people made up their minds about Milan Lucic and Adam Larsson the day the trade was made. You’ve seen it out there that Larsson isn’t an impact player, or that Chiarelli should be held accountable because Larsson isn’t playing 25 minutes a game. Or that Milan Lucic is slow, and just cashing a cheque.
Nothing will change their minds. They are made up. This type of stuff wasn’t being thrown around when the Oilers were 7-1-0, but it’s alright. I’ve been incredibly happy with Larsson, and while the Oilers lost the trade I can count on one hand the number of goals against that Adam Larsson was responsible for. I don’t think the Oilers are good without Adam Larsson on the backend. I’m not yet sure about his offensive abilities, but those defensive types are pretty important. He makes me think of Anton Stralman or Marc-Édouard Vlasic: key dependable guys who are damn solid in their own ends.
I’m still not completely over the Hall trade. I still look at my Hall jersey and sigh. Even then, I’ve let go and accepted he’ll produce with the Devils and Larsson + Lucic will be fine in Edmonton.
Flip Flop Parade
Oilers go 7-1-0: This team is definitely different.
Oilers lose 5 in a row: it’s the same as the past decade!
The Flip Flopping on a weekly basis is hilarious in Edmonton. I’m not saying I’m 100% happy with this current skid, because I am not. I’m bummed out that they’ve dropped five after such a good start. That said, I think a lot of fans knew this was going to happen eventually.
What’s even crazier is that I don’t think the Oilers looked horrible during this five game skid. In fact, I think out of those five games, they could have won each one.
Pittsburgh was decided in the last minute and a half by an own goal. The Oilers were leading 3-1 after two periods.
Dallas was against a depleted Stars team, lost 3-2 and the Stars went Trap Mode.
The Oilers had the Rangers on the ropes, lost 3-2.
Against Anaheim, the Oilers had around 30 shots after two periods. Lost 4-1.
Against Los Angeles, the Oilers were down 2-0, and managed to tie it only to squander it. Lost 4-2.
The Mean California
I didn’t think the Oilers looked horrible against the California teams, despite being outscored 8-3. When it came to shooting, the Oilers won the shots battle, lost the goal one.
It’s mind boggling frustrating to say this team is the same old garbage, because when Edmonton used to go into California, it would be a blowout and dominated on the shot clock.
What’s REALLY Wrong and How to Fix it!
The Oilers forwards can’t score. It’s not a single Oiler who is to blame. It’s the entire forward core.
Quite frankly, they are snake bit. Dr. Kris’ remedy is to wait it out because it’s not going to last forever.
Out of the past three games, the Oilers registered 102 shots on net, but only six goals. That is an un sustainable shooting percentage of only 5.8%. Compare to the usual average of the Oilers being 9-10%, that’s bound to change.
Nobody is scoring despite outshooting the opposing team. There were concerns about how well the Oilers were scoring without as many shots, and now it’s the opposite.
Another thing that’s wrong: letting the other team score first. Throughout the five game skid, the Oilers were the first ones to allow a goal. Stop that Edmonton.
With players like Kris Russell and Brandon Davidso coming back from injury soon, I’d expect the Oilers to start winning some games here. Not just that, but they should also start scoring at a reasonable rate. Unfortunately, it’s going to take a bit of time and patience.
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